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| Charlotte Rose Goshorn Born, June 21st 2011 7lbs, 6oz |
Well, the long awaited post is here! Charlotte is currently sleeping on my chest in the moby wrap after a big breakfast on both our parts. It's been a long few days, but I think we're finding our stride and finally getting some decent sleep.
So here's the incredibly detailed super long story!
I'd say it started Sunday. I went to my parents for the day to play with my sisters new kitten. As I've posted previously, pregnancy had worn out its welcome and I had been doing everything I could think of to try to get it to leave. The kitten definitely helped me feel better. Paul and I got home and decided to go for a walk. We walked about a mile round trip to Fred Meyer where we shared a rainbow jello parfait.
Sleep that night was really limited. I fell asleep really late, woke up several times, and ended up getting up after about 5 hours. My mom called and wanted to know if I wanted to come over to play with the kitten again. She picked me up about 8 and we went back to her house where we collected my popi and took him to get his blood test.
After Popi's blood test we went to McDonalds and had a big breakfast. before we went back to the house. I took a nap and then gave the kitten a flea bath. Around 10 I lost my mucus plug. I actually wasn't sure if this is what it was because I had expected something different. I texted my midwife, Dana, and told her I thought maybe my water broke, but I wasn't sure. She texted me some instructions for what to do and told me to keep her posted.
I spent the rest of the afternoon napping and playing with the kitten. I had a few cramps here and there, but nothing really noticeable. My mom suggested we go to the store to get stuff for dinner, so Popi and I followed her around Safeway like a couple of sheep. Walking at this point was really tiring. My hips and lower back were achey and I was really tired. I think I took another nap when we got back home.
Paul, my sister and my dad got to the house around 5:30 and about 6 we sat down outside for dinner. My brother randomly came by as well. We were dishing up our food and chatting when I felt my water break. I looked up wide eyed and ran to the bathroom.
When I came back out I was giddy with excitement. Finally! A substantial sign! We ate dinner and I started to have some cramps, but they were not terribly bad and pretty random. I texted Dana again to let her know and she gave me some more instructions. I was eager to get home to make banana bread (this was my labor project and I wanted to take it for the midwives) and take a shower, so we packed up and made our way home. Paul needed to go to the store for something so I got straight to work cleaning the kitchen and getting banana bread made having more cramps all the while.
As soon as I got the bread in the oven to bake, I took a shower. For some reason I had it in my head that I needed to have nice hair for when people took pictures. I showered and got into some loose comfortable clothes about when Paul got back from the store. At this point the cramps started to be stronger and more frequent. We sat down with a package of oreos to watch the King's Speech about 9:30. The contractions were frequent enough that Paul started using the contraction calculator. I was able to breath through them and continue watching the movie for probably an hour, making frequent trips to the toilet. Then the contractions really started to pick up.
I feel the need to describe what a contraction actually felt like. Menstrual cramps are the closest feeling I think. After weeks of braxton hicks contractions where my belly got really hard, I had expected them to be more like that. Instead the pain was very broad and low in my pelvis, not really sharp. Each contraction felt like a dimmer light. It was pretty dim at first and then it would gradually grow more bright and intense for awhile and then dim back down again to nothing.
I couldn't stay in one place anymore and I started having to moan through the contractions. I kept cycling between the bathroom, the couch and the balance ball with Paul trailing behind me to help me through them and to keep them timed. Then breathing and moaning stopped being effective and we gave up trying to finish the movie.
Probably around 11 I had Paul give me an update on the contractions calculator. They were a minute long on average, about two minutes apart for about 45 minutes to an hour. I texted Dana to tell her. She said to take a bath and to try to get some sleep. I got in the tub and told Paul that I was so glad that I had a bigger one to look forward to rather than an epidural and a night on my back! The bath didn't help the contractions slow down at all and I was getting frustrated and really exhausted so I got out and tried to lay in the bed.
I tried to stay in bed through a few contractions and got frustrated knowing I couldn't sleep. I started to cry because I was so incredibly tired. I even felt myself doze a bit between each one. I got up and went to the living room where I ended up on all fours on the floor. Paul had to rush to get me a bowl before I threw up. Around midnight he asked if I wanted to call Dana.
I did want to call, but I also felt like it couldn't be happening this fast and I didn't want to endure a car ride only to be sent home. Paul called her anyway and told her what was happening. He asked if I wanted to go in. I really wanted to go in, but I hesitated a bit and finally nodded that yes I did want to go in. Dana told Paul and her apprentice, Nicole, would meet us there in about 45 minutes.
I was so happy knowing I would be getting in the big tub soon. Paul started getting our things together to put in the car while I tracked my contractions on his phone. I knew we couldn't leave for another half an hour and thankfully the gap between the contractions was a little longer for awhile. Finally we were able to leave. Paul helped me get out to the car. At this point I was pretty loud. I tried to breathe through the contraction I had walking out so I wouldn't yell and wake up the neighbors.
The car ride was about 15 minutes but it felt like 5. We pulled into the parking lot at the center right as Nicole did. I had another contraction walking in to the birth center. I sat on the couch in the lobby moaning through my contractions as she rushed around getting our room set up. I made my way into the room and was so happy to see the water running into the tub.
She checked my pulse and my blood pressure and then used a doppler to track the baby's heartbeat. It felt like it took forever because it was hard to find it and then she had to start over after each contraction. I labored a little longer as Nicole finished checking everything and I felt more fluid come through. I ran to the bathroom so I could sit on the toilet but ended up getting sick instead. I remember feeling guilty for making such a mess in their pretty bathroom. Finally I was able to get into the tub.
It felt so good to be in the water and really took the edge off of the contractions, but it still really really hurt. It wasn't long before I started feeling the urge to push. Nicole suggested I not bear down as hard yet and had me reposition myself so that my legs weren't flailing in the water. She told me Dana was on her way. I wanted to wait for her to get there because I couldn't have my baby without Dana there! A few minutes later Dana arrived. I was so happy to see her and I woke up from my trance long enough to smile and tell her so. Not long after my other midwife's apprentice, Jules, got there. Then the urge to push really started to pick up.
After probably half an hour Dana suggested I get out of the tub to help my pushes be more productive. I knew she was right but I didn't want to move and ruin all the work I'd already done. I was getting so tired and frustrated that I finally started to get up and move. I ended up squatting in the tub with Paul holding me up while I pushed. Then I worked my way out of the tub. I made it two steps toward the bed before I braced my arms on the bed and continued pushing. Then I lowered myself into a squat and the pushes started to get really hard. I knew the screaming I was doing was going to ruin my voice but I didn't care, I wanted her out!! They helped me sit on a birth stool so I wouldn't kill my legs and I finally started to feel her head move down.
I pushed and pushed and they told me they could see her head. I was so relieved to see the end in sight that I really started to bear down. Then I felt the "ring of fire" when her head finally crowned. Up until this point the pain was a pretty throbbing broad pain. This pain, which I knew would happen, was sharp and acute. I didn't expect it to last as long as it did. I pushed several times as hard as I could hoping it would stop if I really worked hard but it wasn't stopping. I started to get really upset and didn't want to try anymore because I was so exhausted and it was taking too long! Then they showed me her head in the mirror and I knew I could do it. I really bore down and pushed and pushed and finally felt the relief of her head come through followed by her cry. A few pushes later I felt her shoulders come through as
Dana and Paul lifted her to my chest. It was about 3:22 am.
They helped me get off the birth stool and lay down on the floor. Her umbilical cord wasn't very long and I couldn't pull her up very high. It hurt to have it tight against my vagina and I just wanted to deliver the placenta so the cord wasn't pulling anymore. It took about ten minutes before it finally came out. In the meantime everyone was running around the room cleaning up and checking things. I don't know how much time passed before the took the baby to clean her off and check her apgar scores. Then they gave her to Paul.
He held her while they helped me get up into the bed. I was so dizzy and drained. They gave me a tincture to help with the dizzyness and got me into the bed. Everything was so hazy and I felt like I was asleep and awake at the same time. They gave me the baby and helped us get situated while they finished cleaning everything. Dana helped my get her to latch and try to eat a little bit before we went to sleep. Then they said their goodbyes and we were left in the bed. It felt so still and odd after such a flurry of activity. I was a bit dazed and confused. I hadn't expected them to leave her in the bed with us and I didn't know what to do. So I went with it and tried to sleep.
Charlotte was very vocal. She cried and chattered for hours. She was even chattering in her sleep. I slept restlessly for a few hours and woke up to find Nicole checking her to make sure she was okay. Paul was concerned with how much noise she was making and was worried she was in pain. Nicole said she was fine and just really needed to tell us everything that had happened to her. I slept a little longer after that and we got up around 8 to eat breakfast.
The next day was so long and short at the same time. We worked on breast feeding several times throughout the day with little success. My mom and Popi visited us around 1, then a massage therapist came and gave me a massage. I was surprised at how awake and energized I felt after so much work and so little sleep. My dad and sister came to visit after that. We ordered dinner from Chevy's and ate before I took a sitz bath. I was so excited to get in the tub with Charlotte. She'd been pretty fussy all day having had little success with breast feeding. She was fussy before we got in the tub but I figured the water would help. Instead she fussed and cried in the water so I pulled her to my chest where she proceeded to poo all over me. It was a short bath.We watched some daily show on hulu and then went to bed. She woke up around 2:30 to try to eat again, and we had no luck. It didn't work very well at 4:30 either. Around 6:30 we woke up and tried again. I got her to feed pretty well and then she was bright eyed and awake for an hour or so. I felt pretty good so I walked around the birth center with her. No one was around and I was kind of sad that no one could enjoy her good mood with me.
I took a nap and my family left. When I woke up I started crying uncontrollably. Paul rubbed my neck and shoulders with some Arnica cream because I was really sore. More visitors came in the evening ending with my brother and his girlfriend around 10.
After they left we decided to attempt another bath. It still didn't go very well, but lasted a bit longer than the previous one. Charlotte woke up twice in the night to eat with little success. The next morning I woke up shivering and shaking. My stomach felt like it had sunk (that ucky hangover sour stomach feeling) and I couldn't get warm. I cried uncontrollably while I tried to get warm in the chair. Heather came to check on me to make sure I was okay. I managed to rest in the chair while she got me a ton of food for breakfast. (see Facebook Status ha!) I rested and tried to feed Charlotte, again with little success, while Paul started to get us packed up and ready to go home.
Heather and Pippa switched shifts again and Pippa came in to start doing the discharge process with us. She went over post-partum stuff for me and newborn stuff for the baby and then checked my blood pressure, pulse, and uterus. I napped a bit after that. I woke up to find Pippa and Paul doing the checkout stuff for Charlotte. She'd lost 10 oz. in the last two days, a fairly normal amount. We got her dressed and put in the car seat while we gather the last remnants of our things to go home. |
| Dana knitted the little yellow hat out of yarn from our birth class. |
I am so proud of myself for doing this naturally. It was worth the lack of medication to see my baby girls big bright open eyes within hours of her being born. Since we've been home, Nicole has come to check on us and to make sure both baby and me are healthy and doing well. Charlotte lost a little more weight, but has been feeding really well now since we introduced nipple shields into the feeding equation. Andaluz was fan-frickin-tastic and everyone that visited was stunned by how incredibly nice the center was. The guidance and support of my midwife team and the post-partum team made this such a wonderful experience. I wouldn't have done it any other way!
She's beautiful Bethany. Congratulations!
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